Each social network you use provides a set of features that add functionality to your account, such as the Action Button on LinkedIn and Facebook Pages. Other companies offer additional applications and tools that you can integrate into your social media accounts to increase features and functionality.

Choosing the third-party tools to use depends on the type of functionality you’re looking to add. Here are 5 types of tools and what they can do for you.

1. Linking Out

Most social networks limit the number of links you can include in the bio of your account page because their goal is to keep users on their sites. Facebook and LinkedIn only allow one link in the bio section of your Page plus the Action Button to add one extra link. While Instagram has increased the number of links in their bio section to five which is helpful, there may be other links you’d like to add, particularly since you cannot have clickable links on Instagram posts.

You can use a tool to add more links to your social account bios. Linktree and Bitly are two companies that help you create link pages that feature virtually an unlimited number of links. With a link page, you can include links to your website, your online store, a portfolio, your other social networks, blog posts, and more.

Once you create a link page, you can enter its URL into the bio section of each social network you manage. When a visitor clicks the link in your bio, they are brought to the link page and presented with a much larger selection of links.

2. Automation

You might want to add some automation to your social media accounts to perform specific tasks, particularly ones that help your accounts work together. For example, you can use tools such as Zapier or If This Then That (IFTTT) to create actions like automatically cross posting your Instagram Posts to your LinkedIn account but only when you use the hashtag #business or to save your Instagram photos to Dropbox or Google Drive every time you post to Instagram.

You can also use automations for tracking purposes such as automatically saving any links you include in posts on your Facebook Page or saving any mentions you receive in comments on your posts to a Google spreadsheet. While some of the automation tools have a free level, most also have paid subscriptions for more sophisticated automations.

3. Appointment Booking

If your business relies on appointment bookings, there are applications that can create a seamless scheduling process on your social media pages. Using Meta Business Suite, for example, you can add a scheduling application such as Schedulista, Acuity Scheduling, Square Appointments, and Zoho Bookings to your Facebook Page and even your Instagram business profile. Simply select the Book Now action button, then choose the third-party solution you’d like to use. For other social networks, you can add your booking link to the link page you created through Linktree, Bitly, or another platform.

4. Online Shopping

Because social networks want to keep users on their platforms, some have added online shopping integrations so users can purchase directly on your account page rather than clicking away to your online store. Facebook and Instagram allow integrations with approved shopping applications such as Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Square Online, and Squarespace, syncing with your product catalog and allowing shopping on your pages without leaving the social networks.

TikTok offers similar shopping integrations including Shopify, Amazon, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Wix, and Square. You can also enable shoppable pins on Pinterest using Shopify, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, Adobe Commerce (Magento), and WooCommerce.

If you are using an ecommerce platform for your online store that is not an approved integrated application on a particular social network, there may be third-party connector extensions that can help you sync products, manage inventory, and process orders in real-time.

5. Contests and Sweepstakes

One way to add interactivity and increase engagement on your social media accounts is to run contests or sweepstakes. Before you do, it is best to check with a lawyer familiar with state and federal laws around contests and sweepstakes before proceeding.

Woobox is a well-known contest and sweepstakes platform that integrates with multiple social networks including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest. You can run photo, video, and hashtag contests on Woobox or use it to randomly pick winners from comments or likes. Other platforms offering similar tools include Wishpond and Shortstack.

As you can see, there are a variety of applications you can add to your social media accounts that can be integrated using third-party solutions. While it might be tempting to add as many of these applications as you can find, pick the ones that best suit your brand and that can attract and engage your target audience.